Today the new tariffs on Chinese goods go into effect. Would it change
the trade balance between the US and China? Would it make America great
again?
Some Americans are delirious and crowing that China has no more bullets
to fight the Americans after the latest bout of tariff hikes. US raised
tariffs on US$200b and China could only raise US$60b. So apparently the
China could not raise any more tariffs, as there is no more products to
raise tariffs on. This is about all that China is buying from the
Americans.
Did the American won in this supposed final round? Jack Ma just
announced that his promise of creating 1m jobs for the Americans is off,
no deal, deal cancelled. Haier, Chinese consumer manufacturer giant
that bought over the appliance arm of GE has stopped selling goods made
in the USA to China as the tariff has made goods made in America more
expensive to export to China. Haier is not the only China manufacturer
setting up factories in the USA. And not only that production would be
cut down, leading to more job losses, Chinese companies planning to set
up factories in the USA, to provide jobs for Americans are hold back
their plans. The cancelling of hundreds or thousands of Boeing aircraft
would also mean job cuts in Boeing.
When the dust finally settles after this brief war initiated by the US,
China would have found many substitutes for America produce and goods.
The American farmers would have to find another 1.4b market to sell
their produce and goods. India is a good potential, provided they have
the middle class that can afford expensive American produce and goods.
Look at what is happening to the Australians, now crying but no tears
left. Trillions of Chinese dollars vanished in the air and now pleading
for mercy.
China has been responding and retaliating American attacks so far and
has not taken the offensive yet. Wait for the next wave when China
starts the counter attack. Americans are deluded to think only they can
hit others, can start wars against others, can imposed sanctions on
others and not the other way. In the phases of war, the one who has the
initiative by starting the war always looks good at the beginning of the
war. If they cannot defeat the enemy, just like Germany and Japan, and
when the counter offensive starts, the table will turn.
9/24/2018
If they repeal S377A
'...prominent Singapore diplomat Professor Tommy Koh responded to
Chesterman’s post and called on Singapore’s gay community to band
together and challenge Section 377A here.
The veteran diplomat wrote: “I would encourage our gay community to bring a class action to challenge the consitutionality of Section 377A.” When reminded that past legal applications challenging the constitutionality of the law have failed, Prof Koh encouraged from his verified account: “try again”....
Labelling the group calling for change a “growing minority”, the Minister told reporters:
By the look of things, and with more heavy weight natural aristocrats lending their weights to repeal this law, it is only a matter of time before it becomes a reality.
I just have one concern. Should they repeal this law, how are children that are not gay or have no homosexual tendency, or even adults, find the protection from the law should they end up as victims of sexual attacks by the gays? No everyone is a gay and enjoy such activities with the same sex, and the majority are not interested in such affairs.
Would there be any law to protect their interest should the govt succumb to the demands to repeal this law? Is the govt responsible for the safety of those that do not subscribe to such activities and fell victim as a result of this change in law? By all means, go change the law if it is so desired, but please ensure that those that need protection from the law would still be protected.
Go and find a lawyer to sue for personal trepassing?
The veteran diplomat wrote: “I would encourage our gay community to bring a class action to challenge the consitutionality of Section 377A.” When reminded that past legal applications challenging the constitutionality of the law have failed, Prof Koh encouraged from his verified account: “try again”....
Labelling the group calling for change a “growing minority”, the Minister told reporters:
Is it because LKY is no more around to slap the wrists of natural aristocrats, the cry for the abolition of S377A is gaining support from more and more natural aristocrats. The one voice that is still hesitating on this change is Shanmugam, quoting the cultural and religious opposition to this change.“Singapore…on this issue, it is a deeply split society. The majority oppose to any change to section 377A – they are opposed to removing it. A minority – I have to say, a growing minority – want it to be repealed. The Government is in the middle.
“This issue relates to social mores, values – so can you impose viewpoints on a majority when it so closely relates to a social value system?”'
By the look of things, and with more heavy weight natural aristocrats lending their weights to repeal this law, it is only a matter of time before it becomes a reality.
I just have one concern. Should they repeal this law, how are children that are not gay or have no homosexual tendency, or even adults, find the protection from the law should they end up as victims of sexual attacks by the gays? No everyone is a gay and enjoy such activities with the same sex, and the majority are not interested in such affairs.
Would there be any law to protect their interest should the govt succumb to the demands to repeal this law? Is the govt responsible for the safety of those that do not subscribe to such activities and fell victim as a result of this change in law? By all means, go change the law if it is so desired, but please ensure that those that need protection from the law would still be protected.
Go and find a lawyer to sue for personal trepassing?
9/23/2018
A picture of truth
As they said, a picture is worth a thousand words, or a picture does not lie. Take this picture as a mental exercise on the perceptions it creates on the readers and also the intent of the people putting up this picture. One can draw many conclusions from looking at it. Let me just throw up a few interpretations of this picture of members of the Select Committee on fake news.
A casual observer looking at this picture could form many impressions. One, the Indian community in Singapore is the majority ethnic group, or the Indians are the most powerful political community in Singapore. Chinese is a minority in Singapore. The readers could also be wondering why 3 Indians, highly qualified, a top lawyer and minister, another lawyer and a doctor, are just member of a committee headed by an aircraft technician/engineer. Should not the top notch lawyer/minister, the most qualified and most clever, the most powerful, be the chairman instead?
Of course a reader who is not informed of the big number of committee members may get away thinking that the Committee is small and likely be made up of the 4 members in the picture. The whole truth is that there were at least 13 members in the Committee.
A picture lies or can lie depending on the intent of the people putting up the picture and it can show half truth, select truth or to mislead the readers by what is being shown or what is being cropped out from the full picture. Remember all the pictures and articles about North Korea as recent as before the Kim Trump Summit, all telling a story of abject poverty, North Koreans dying of famine and under nourishment. Compare those sinister pictures and articles with what you see on Channel News Asia, the sparkling high rise buildings that put a shame to many Asian countries, and the well planned road network, parks, commercial and residential buildings.
The truth of a picture is as good as the saying, statistics lie and lie and lie if this is what the person behind them chose to do so.
And readers may even have different inferences from the expressions of the people in the picture to infer what is in their heads or from their eyes what are their agenda or intent.
The picture reminds me of a pic someone sent me recently. It was about a turtle sitting on top of a tall pole. It could not climb up the pole on its own. Someone had to put it there. The turtle also did not know why someone would put it on top of a pole and why it was there, to do what? It had no clue of what was happening around it.
9/22/2018
China making amendments to BRI plan
The original Belt and Road New Silk Road Plan includes high speed train
cutting down from southern China through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand,
Malaysia to Singapore. Its west bound line cuts through Myanmar,
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Middle East towards Turkey and Europe.
This Plan is now modified taking into consideration the choice of Vietnam and India not to participate in the BRI. The southern line would now commence from Kunming, China through Laos, Cambodia and further south to Singapore bypassing Vietnam completely. The west bound line would also by pass India as well as India has decided to build its own Silk Road with Japan, starting from east India and ending in west India.
When the BRI is completed, goods from Vietnam and India to and from Europe would have to go by air or by sea, not by train, unless they build their own high speed or snail speed train to connect with the Chinese high speed train lines.
A third amendment is in the making with Mahathir cancelling all Chinese high speed train projects in Malaysia. It is likely that the southern point of the Chinese high speed train would end in Bangkok, Thailand and missing Malaysia and Singapore altogether. Goods from both countries to and from Europe and China would likewise go by air or sea. The heavy stuff that would be too expensive to go by air would have to go by sea in snail speed to Europe and China by then.
A fourth possible development would be for Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and India to build their own high speed train network starting from Vietnam down to Singapore and back up west to India.
There will then be two Silk Roads by land, one built by China and one by India, to transport goods to the various countries along the New Silk Roads. India may want to call it the New Sari Road. Oh it can extend all the way to Japan as well.
There is no need for China to beg the unconvinced to join the bandwagon if they chose to be left out of the game plan.
This Plan is now modified taking into consideration the choice of Vietnam and India not to participate in the BRI. The southern line would now commence from Kunming, China through Laos, Cambodia and further south to Singapore bypassing Vietnam completely. The west bound line would also by pass India as well as India has decided to build its own Silk Road with Japan, starting from east India and ending in west India.
When the BRI is completed, goods from Vietnam and India to and from Europe would have to go by air or by sea, not by train, unless they build their own high speed or snail speed train to connect with the Chinese high speed train lines.
A third amendment is in the making with Mahathir cancelling all Chinese high speed train projects in Malaysia. It is likely that the southern point of the Chinese high speed train would end in Bangkok, Thailand and missing Malaysia and Singapore altogether. Goods from both countries to and from Europe and China would likewise go by air or sea. The heavy stuff that would be too expensive to go by air would have to go by sea in snail speed to Europe and China by then.
A fourth possible development would be for Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and India to build their own high speed train network starting from Vietnam down to Singapore and back up west to India.
There will then be two Silk Roads by land, one built by China and one by India, to transport goods to the various countries along the New Silk Roads. India may want to call it the New Sari Road. Oh it can extend all the way to Japan as well.
There is no need for China to beg the unconvinced to join the bandwagon if they chose to be left out of the game plan.
9/21/2018
National plan to fight fake news
The Select Committee has come out with a national strategy ‘to combat
fake news campaigns run by foreign operators to safeguard its
sovereignty and security. The focus of the Committee is foreign
operators and social media. The problem is that local operators and main
stream media are not saints and angels either and did not conduct
campaigns to undermine the country’s and national interest. This point
is not addressed by this Committee or only superficially.
The Committee claimed that they have ‘evidence suggesting that “a range of state and non state actors” are engaging in disinformation operations here, and that these operators have used online news articles and social media to influence Singaporeans and legitimize another state’s international actions.’ It also mentioned that “a particular foreign state” without identifying it, had launched closed to 40,000 attacks. The identity of this state is quite obvious depending on what lenses one is wearing. Some choose to call it A state, some choose to call it B state, according to their vested interests and alignment with the respective state.
If one is to read the so called serious articles posted in the main media, one can easily identify the amount of falsehood and fake news used to undermine certain states with disinformation, and I quote thenewpaper report, ‘”Cyber armies” are also deployed to aid sectarian or political agendas in several neighbouring countries, and these can easily be repurposed and deployed against Singapore.’
How such blatant distorted fake news and political disinformation could be allowed into the main media needs no explanation. There is no need for more training for journalists or editors to make them less so stupid to miss the biased contents, agenda in fake news. Other than those that have not read history or political science, or are absolute idiots, anyone with a little common sense would be able to check the facts and distill the truth from fake news.
Often the fake news in the main media is done in collusion with foreign states to disparage and attack other states. Main media is as guilty or more guilty than social media in the spread of fake news and disinformation for political agendas.
So, where are we heading in this witch hunt? How real is the effort to fight fake news?
The Committee claimed that they have ‘evidence suggesting that “a range of state and non state actors” are engaging in disinformation operations here, and that these operators have used online news articles and social media to influence Singaporeans and legitimize another state’s international actions.’ It also mentioned that “a particular foreign state” without identifying it, had launched closed to 40,000 attacks. The identity of this state is quite obvious depending on what lenses one is wearing. Some choose to call it A state, some choose to call it B state, according to their vested interests and alignment with the respective state.
If one is to read the so called serious articles posted in the main media, one can easily identify the amount of falsehood and fake news used to undermine certain states with disinformation, and I quote thenewpaper report, ‘”Cyber armies” are also deployed to aid sectarian or political agendas in several neighbouring countries, and these can easily be repurposed and deployed against Singapore.’
How such blatant distorted fake news and political disinformation could be allowed into the main media needs no explanation. There is no need for more training for journalists or editors to make them less so stupid to miss the biased contents, agenda in fake news. Other than those that have not read history or political science, or are absolute idiots, anyone with a little common sense would be able to check the facts and distill the truth from fake news.
Often the fake news in the main media is done in collusion with foreign states to disparage and attack other states. Main media is as guilty or more guilty than social media in the spread of fake news and disinformation for political agendas.
So, where are we heading in this witch hunt? How real is the effort to fight fake news?
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